The Intruder

By Beverly Blackman

For some teen-age boys, a calm summer in the heart of Texas, becomes an interference with universal peace and harmony. A summer job on a Texas cattle ranch is not what it seems. They become a part of a sinister plan involving robotics research, and an alien portal hidden in a sturdy old oak tree. What seem like a series of coincidences eventually points to alien involvements.

If there are beings from other planets, will they have things in common with human life? How will they communicate? Can they be good or evil? Are they smarter than humans? Do they even like humans? Is there an advantage to being friends with them?

Grandpa Rex doesn't like change, but he has no choice but to accept it. His grandsons also have no choice. How would you handle life changing events caused by aliens from the planet Xeracik?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Mar 25, 2021
• ISBN: 9781684093410

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The Intruder

Beverly Blackman

Copyright © 2016 Beverly Blackman

All rights reserved

First Edition

PAGE PUBLISHING, INC.

Conneaut Lake, PA

First originally published by Page Publishing 2016

ISBN 978-1-68409-340-3 (pbk)

ISBN 978-1-68409-341-0 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Comprehension Questions for the Trilogy

Chapter 1

The Intrusive Drone

A drone hovered over the tree named Sam; its leaves began to shake, and its branches began to vibrate. There was no wind on that calm June afternoon. No other trees were shaking or vibrating. As the drone continued to fly above the old oak tree, Sam continued to shake and vibrate. Perhaps it was because Sam was more than just a living organism on Earth. It was a tree that had been chosen by forces greater than anything on Earth to carry out a special mission.

Sam was a large oak tree that happened to be growing on the Texas ranchland of Grandpa Rex Olson. When Rex’s wife, Beth Ann, was alive, she had asked someone from the museum in town to contact a professor from TAMU (Texas A&M University) to come and evaluate the tree. When inspecting the tree, the professor told Beth Ann that it was a sturdy historical tree worth $100,000. The first memory of the old tree was that it shaded the Comanche (Native Americans) as they migrated to Texas. Then the Norwegian settlers enjoyed it, and finally, Rex’s father purchased the land from the original settler, Mr. Rogstad. The ranch has been in Rex’s family since the early 1900s, and now it was the end of the twenty-first century. Sam was 230 inches around and thought to be 330 years old.

The drone began to take pictures of Sam from all angles. That drone was very advanced. It was set up to make no noise. Also, it was almost invisible. No matter what the surroundings, it could blend in like a chameleon, taking on the colors of its surroundings.

That same drone was activated over Sam last Christmas, making frequent trips there in the spring and, even then, continuing those trips into the summertime. It had relayed information, showing people from the government lab in Waco, showing various military personnel, and showing what looked like tree doctors in whitecoats that were putting Sam back together after a bad storm in the spring. Once, the drone’s owner had to quickly maneuver it out of the way when two men came zooming through the sky in jet-propelled backpacks. That happening only served to increase Mr. Zeveron’s curiosity.

The drone was owned and operated by Mr. Jesse Zeveron, a very wealthy man from Dallas. He had the drone specially built with all the latest scientific advancements. The drone was his play toy whenever he came to his ranch not far from Grandpa Rex’s ranch, which was located between Norse and Cranfills Gap, Texas. One evening before last Christmas, JZ, as many called him, was playing with his specialized drone. To his surprise, he caught videos of men and women dressed in camouflage. They were walking around Rex Olson’s ranch, down by the old homestead. Later in the spring, he picked up more people on his monitor as he guided the drone up to the homestead and focused on a very large old oak tree that had been hurt in a bad storm. The tree’s branches were broken, and it was partially uprooted. Most interesting to Mr. Z was the glittery green substance oozing out of the tree’s trunk.

Now JZ didn’t become rich by sitting back and allowing things to happen. He was never just an observer. No, he knew how to intrude onto anything that smelled like money. This is a knowledge that could be used as a blessing to help others, but Jesse Z chose to use his ability to curse others for his own gain.

One thing he had to watch out for when he snooped with his drone around the countryside was for anyone who might see it. He didn’t want anyone to confiscate that expensive play toy. If anyone accidently did catch a glimpse of it, there could be lots of trouble. A rancher would think nothing of shooting that contraption out of the sky. What he didn’t know was that Sam the tree was equipped with an intergalactic portal. He hadn’t figured out yet why so many people made such a fuss over that tree. It just happened that JZ wasn’t around to snoop with his drone at the time the portal sucked one of Grandpa Rex’s friends inside the tree or at the time when the Xeracik aliens and their quickly built spaceship left Rex’s Ranch one night.

Mr. Z turned from the screen to get his drink, and when he turned back, he saw an image of the tree shaking uncontrollably. All of a sudden, there was the sound of a little explosion, and the screen went blank. He tried and tried to get the picture back, but all that came on the screen was a picture of a glittery green substance that seemed to come from nowhere.

What on earth? said Mr. Z out loud to no one in particular. It was the wrong question to ask because that substance was not from this Earth.

Chapter 2

Summer Job

Tuffy was practicing his pitching and batting skills inside the batting cage his dad had built for him. Tuffy would be a senior in high school and had been on the varsity baseball team since he was a freshman. He really wanted a summer job, but ever since school was out for the summer a few weeks ago, he was practicing baseball and taking care of the cattle for his family’s cattle business. His family’s ranch, where he lived until he would go to a university, was located between Goliad and Victoria. Tuffy knew the college scouts were looking at him whenever he played, and he wanted to do his best. He always had a quiet determination about him and often was deep in thought. A noise broke his concentration, and he heard a pickup drive up to the house and wondered who that could be at this odd hour in the afternoon.

Wes, a good friend of Tuffy’s, drove up to the ranch house, said hello to Tuffy’s mom, and then ran out to the back of the house to tell his friend some good news.

Hey, Tuffy. I think I’ve found us a great summer job.

Really? answered Tuffy as he swung at a machine-pitched ball.

Yes. Turn that thing off and let’s talk.

Okay, said Tuffy as he stopped the machine, put his bat down, and walked out of the cage. Where is this job? Where was the first question out of his mouth because Tuffy had a girlfriend in San Antonio, and he would really like it if that job was closer to her. He had met Briana Jo at the last San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo. They both showed steers in the Charolais class no. 3 division. They saw each other again at the Houston stock show, and the relationship began. However, distance kept them from seeing each other very often.

Wes replied, "A Dallas oilman has a ranch outside of Clifton, not too far from your grandpa’s. He needs some help, just in the month of July. We could stay with your grandpa. The guy’s name is